1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for holding books in an open position so that they may be read by a person without that person's having to hold the book open.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is possible to keep a book in an open position by placing weights around the edges. However, this is inconvenient as the weights are not very portable nor are they convenient for frequent page-turning as would occur in the normal reading of a book. There are devices which are designed to hold books in an open position. These devices, however, because of their structural design, are too large to be pocket-size.
There have been book opening devices that were essentially oversized paper clips with arms that projected outwardly. When such a device was clipped on to the pages on the left hand side of an open book the protruding arm extended to the right, across part of those pages on the left hand side, continuing across the spine and across a portion of the page on the right hand side. Because of the design of such a device, it had to be made out of relatively heavy gauge wire, which obscured the written words and impeded reading.
There exists a contemporary device for holding a book open which utilizes a transparent, angularly bent strip of resilient plastic. The strip is approximately one and one-half inches wide and essentially wraps around an open book in a horizontal direction, conforming with the angles of the open covers. Each of the two ends of the strip is crimped back in such a way that it overlaps and clamps down on each side of the open book, thus keeping the book open. The sides of this device, at the point where they are crimped, extend well beyond the sides of an open book. It is obviously too large to be pocket size.
Thus, there is a need for a convenient, pocket-sized device to hold a book in an open position, allowing a person to utilize his/her hands for things such as knitting, crocheting, eating, and so forth.